Brent crude oil futures rose above $106 a barrel on Wednesday morning after the Houthis intensified their attacks on Saudi targets on Tuesday.
At 10.03 am on Wednesday, December Brent oil futures were at $106.25, up by 0.53 per cent, and November crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $94.58, up by 0.47 per cent. October crude oil futures were trading at ₹8992 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹8953, up by 0.44 per cent, and November futures were trading at ₹8921 against the previous close of ₹8888, up by 0.37 per cent.
On Tuesday, the Houthis attacked the administrative building of the oil firm Saudi Aramco in Dhahran. Reports said the attack caused a fire in a part of the complex.
On Saturday, the Houthis attacked the main airport of Saudi Arabia killing 12 people and injuring more than 300. The airport was again targeted on Sunday.
A Reuters report, which quoted two unnamed senior Iranian officials, said Iran is deploying new tactics to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz to keep oil prices high and influence US mid-term elections.
The recent developments in West Asia have raised concerns about disruptions to oil supplies from the region.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump took to the social media platform Truth Social to attack the Houthis.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “The Houthis are behaving very badly. I thought they learned their lesson a year ago when we bombed the HELL out of them and, at their request, stopped. They’ve been silent for a long time, but now they’ve emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran, which is a Failing Nation, with No Navy, No Airforce, the World’s Worst Economy, and 301% Inflation, in a very nasty way, hitting Saudi Arabia, and purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the U.S. Elections — NOT NICE. Somebody should explain to them that I’m not running in the Elections, I’ve already won, IN A MASSIVE LANDSLIDE, but I’ll be there after the Elections, and I will never forget!”
October natural gas futures were trading at ₹316 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹313, up by 0.96 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), October jeera contracts were trading at ₹25805 in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹25640, up by 0.64 per cent.
October turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹24708 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹24686, up by 0.09 per cent.